Cass in Asylum - Saint City/Arcane

By the time Cassandra found her way back out to him, Karne had moved further into the living area and somehow managed to get the fire started before enjoying his cigarette nearby the closest window. The fireplace offered what both warmth and lighting to the room that was mostly being lit by the old bulb closer towards the kitchen and given how long it’d been since the place had been used, Karne thought the fire had been a good choice on his part, offering Cassandra both warmth and hopefully a more comforting and more importantly, relaxing environment. In his mind he’d managed to tick of the necessities, clothes, food, warmth… -and the tap still worked luckily so that meant hydration too. The two couches were rather dusty when they’d arrived, Karne had tried to belt them a couple times to disturb it all to little avail but in the end figured they’d just have to put up with it; wasn’t like he was going to sleep anyway…-With Cassandra being human Karne had considered the fact that his typical wake and sleep cycle would differ completely from hers.

His gaze was drawn away from the window, exhaling cigarette smoke out through his nose only to turn and find Cassandra not so far away who looked much more normal in the clothes that she’d accepted, her expression still fatigued though he hoped that would pass with time. When she spoke, Karne glanced aside a moment to look back to the room they’d shared together so many years back feeling somewhat out of place in himself, this wasn’t the reason he’d brought her here. The fact was that it was the safest bet he had to keep her off the streets until she was well enough to move forward with her life. His brows twitched slightly though he refrained from letting his discomfort show, soon turning back to glance to Cassandra, giving a slight shrug of his right shoulder; “You’ve been through enough shit lately to go wading your way through our history again, Cassandra…” it was somewhat difficult to say, he had to ignore himself and put her first though the latter was the easier part when it meant ignoring his feelings about the place and about her, “All you need to worry about right now is your recovery…”. Karne soon gestured to one of the couches where he’d left blankets upon it, he had not thought to clean the floor of their old makeshift mattress and now felt like a fool for leaving it there but it hadn’t been on his list of priorities when it came to trying to keep her in the best shape possible.

He could still smell her blood, the warmth of her flesh he could feel from a meter away and the beat of her heart…-A Vampire could dance beneath the rain while the heavens bled dry, to such a tune. Karne didn’t want to admit it but being back there in that room with her was intoxicating and at the same time dangerous, it was exhilarating and yet she was suffering, if ever one of his kind would relish a moment it would be under similar circumstances though not to this degree, he knew her intimately already and she was still the one holding his heart, albeit dead compared to hers and without even knowing.

Security, he had to distract himself with something and thinking of what would keep Cassandra safe was the best start. Stabbing the cigarette into the window shelf and putting it out, he soon dropped it out the window and closed it behind him before moving across to the kitchen table and drawing his weapons from beneath his jacket; two knives large and made for hunting, they were sharp enough to peel paper, housed in leather, Karne placed them first to the tabletop before drawing a firearm from the back of his belt, an old colt.45 of his fathers that had been retrofitted with new modifications, a larger clip designed for specialized ammunition being one of the more obvious upgrades. Following that, he held his arm out above the table and from the veil of the abyss, he called the old Katana that he had taken from WolfMortum following his death, The Shichiseiken, placing it housed within it’s sheath above all the rest. It was a little comforting to see all his current armaments in plain sight and also meant that should the need arise, Cassandra could take them up if she had to defend herself as well.

The whereabouts of Plague and Xaphan was playing on his mind, it wasn’t what Karne had expected Plague might allow. Cassandra had been a prize of sorts that Plague had found enjoyment in tormenting through her loved ones and those that cared for her. So why had she been allowed to spend so long with the humans, to be away from Mayhem. He wondered if she’d somehow struck another deal and forgotten it through the torture and medications of the asylum or just the general chaos that had become her existence before. Should Plague show up once again, Karne would die before Cassandra was taken, so soon after just finding her all over again.
Honestly, he needed this. If it weren’t demons, it was Ox-Corp and if it wasn’t the Company then it was his own children killing any possible happiness in the world. A contradiction of sorts, the twins made him happy to think about though having come to know the two at their current age and temperament, it hadn’t slipped Karne’s mind the prospect of just giving up and throwing in the towel. Things had gotten so bad between his daughter and himself that he was struggling to handle the added weight on top of everything else. In fact if it hadn’t been for Soul coming to him and telling him that Cassandra had been sighted, Karne might have lost his shit and gone on one of his old rage filled killing spree’s just to release some steam.

His back was turned to Cassandra though he hadn’t spoken with any hostility whatsoever, he just hoped not to make her feel any more uncomfortable. He set about checking the pistol, pulling the chamber back and ensuring it was loaded before flicking the safety on and setting it back to the table, turning to glance over his shoulder and notice that she was paying more attention to the sandwich, something that helped him feel a little better as it meant her continued strength. “Do you need anything?” He asked as he watched her, trying to ignore every feeling that came with every moment of having her in his sights.

" Recovery. " Karne's words sounded so simple. Forget about her past, focus on healing, getting better. Words were always so simple. She wished that what was expected of her could be done so easily. For months she had been broken. Not knowing what was truth and what was fiction. Torn between the world of humans and that of the immortals, not knowing where she truly belonged. She had been drugged, psych tested and even shocked into believing what their version of the truth was. Even now, as she felt the heat from the fire against her skin, the smell of the tobacco in her nostrils, she still didn't trust her own mind. A part of her still questioned whether she was still in her room and this was all some great illusion she had conjured to escape her true reality.

The uncertainty washed over her like a tidal wave. The drugs that used to control her moods, keep her calm were being metabolised by her body and with nothing to replace it, emotions were flooding back at an increasing rate. She wasn't even sure what she was feeling anymore, there was so much going on underneath the surface that she was almost numb to it all. She wasn't humanly capable of processing them all. The guilt, the regret, the confusion, the anger, the list went on and on. Memories or at least what she believed to be her memories in her mind connected yet she didn't know how the pieces fit together. She began to wonder if she would ever recover, if she would ever resemble a fraction of the person she was before.

Glancing over at Karne, he seemed so distant even in this small apartment. He was seemed as lost as she was, searching for answers out the window or in his cigarette. She was trying to find normalcy in the simple act of eating although it brought her no joy. In fact she could barely the bread or it's contents as she tried to wash it down with a mouthful of water. Having eating only half she set it down, not having the appetite or the want for food. She didn't know what she wanted anymore. Her children, she longed to be reunited with them desperately, apart of her knowing the pain they must of gone through without her presence. But she feared their judgement, their resentment toward her for her actions. She had become a coward in her shame of the past and her wish to avoid facing it.

Karne, being kind, did not acknowledge their past which was less then happy. She wondered where they went wrong. They were happy once and yet she struggled now to pin point the exact moment they were no longer Cass and Karne. She couldn't remember an argument or a fight. There seemed to be no reason as to why they weren't together anymore, they just weren't. One moment they were and then nothing. But with her memory and her past so jumbled up and so many blank spaces, maybe she had simply forgotten the reason. She hoped, for now, she wouldn't remember. This was the only place she had to go right now and Karne was the only person who even knew she was alive. She didn't want to remember some horrid fight between them that made it difficult for her to stay.

" Will you seat with me? " she asked Karne wanting to close the distance between them. The only time she had physical contact in the asylum was to be assessed or restrained. Other then that she had been left alone in her room medicated, the only way to track time by the meal you were eating or the pill you had to take. Just to sit beside someone, someone who wouldn't hurt her or try to strap her down to a table or a bed would help give her some sense of normalcy. Although she had yet to define what normal was to her anymore.

Moving over slightly she made a space for Karne to seat beside her. The smell of nicotine still on his clothes as he approached her. She examined his features and he looked exactly as she remembered. His face strong, his eyes dark, not in color but in the way they looked through you. His face may of been young but his eyes always betrayed him. It where he truly showed his age. She wondered what her eyes said about her after the atrocities and the horrors she had not only seen but committed. All of which Karne seemed to either not care about or overlooked. Why or how he did it she didn't know, but in the moment she was glad he did.

Letting him get comfortable, she moved closer to lean against him slightly. She pulled her legs under her and then rested her head his shoulder shutting her eyes in the hopes to quiet her mind. The flashback of their intimate time replayed in her mind although she tried not to think about it. He seemed to want to forgot about it or at least he didn't want to talk about it but now she remembered the significance it was difficult for her to just ignore it. " I don't regret it... " she muttered as she curled into him slightly trying to make herself comfortable. " Our time here, I'm glad I remembered. " she said honestly happy to have that memory back. Her children still meant the world to her and despite whatever their differences had been, he was their father and even now when he could of left her there to rot in an asylum, he was here in this quiet little apartment tending to her needs and staying by her side making her question all over again where it all went wrong between them.

Her calling him over came as something of a surprise to which he readily agreed, being the woman she was and the one that made him feel as he did, it wasn’t the first time that getting closer in order to try to comfort her had crossed his mind, only he didn’t want to push her too far, still too fragile from all that she’d experienced. Now with the invitation, he took his place beside her and glanced to the right as she more or less curled into his side, his right arm lifting over top of her to rest against the back of the couch, soon finding her back and holding her gently where she sat. The moment was completely unexpected and Karne couldn’t help but want more of it, for how she smelled to him, how the air basically tasted on the tip of his tongue had he only open his mouth, her humanity so blatant and invigorating yet also the temptation that was his feelings for her still.

Turning to look away, he forced himself to find a spot on the far side of the room above the fireplace to which he tried to concentrate on for lack of a better solution to his lust for her. “So much has happened since…” He responded with barely a thought to the words, his mind moving to that of Luca, unable to spare himself of the memories that followed. Karne wasn’t alike the ‘other man’ in Cassandra’s life; he wasn’t kind hearted nor considerate of any others outside of his immediate circle which consisted of his two children and Cassandra herself. He was a Vampire raised within a Covenant for a start, taught to care none for those outside of their own numbers and then to add to it all, his father the megalomaniac killer who knew not how to love another if his existence depended on the slight chance. Add a love affair and make it a triangle and that jealous streak in him had the potential to reveal itself in the most vile of natures; the fact that Luca was so weak, locked up in his basement starving was perhaps the only justification as to why one of them hadn’t spilled the others blood. It had certainly crossed Karne’s mind yet then there was Clara to have to deal with and he didn’t fancy killing the one that Soul loved.

“Aside from our Children, their Aunts, beyond this room I don’t really give a fuck about any of it…-It would be easier to see the rest of the world burn and everyone be taken up with it if I could only remain with you few that I care about…” This of course was his way of saying that nothing else in the world mattered to him, yet Karne had a way with all words but those that appropriately explained his feelings, naturally. “Truth be told, the last time I was here was probably the last time I had nothing to be concerned about. These days it’s all about trying to please our Children, trying to make up for the shit father that I’ve been to them while at the same time, trying to keep the wolves at bay from coming in and wiping us all out. If it’s not the company, it’s demons, if it’s not demons then it’s the politics between our Race and the rest of the Immortals…”, Cassandra wasn’t yet aware of his place in the Elder Covenant, it would probably sound like he’d got himself in over his head but the fact was he wasn’t the only one running it and for that he was thankful, it meant only a few regular meetings while each Covenant did their part to maintain their own; he could still mediate fairly easily between his responsibilities there and those at home in the Black Wood. “There are so few things in the world that give me a reason to be pleased anymore, Hope and Marcus have grown up and I’m proud of them both but our Son won’t believe a single positive word offered to him and if I even get within meters of Hope, she talks like she’d rather see me dead”.

“Above all else, you’ve given me something to focus on other than myself…-The Children, you...-I always had the Covenant to return to but it never really mattered like it did for my father, not until we needed a secure place to stay, to live…” Karne shifted a little within the couch, shifting forward only to be able to lean back into the sofa beside her head height with her and a little more comfortable, his eyes having fallen to the gentle fire still burning and illuminating the room around them; “Words cannot describe the shit run that you and I have had over the years; yet I’ve lived two lifetimes and probably not experienced anything that’s been half as valuable to me as what we’ve had, was…”. In other words, to put it plain and simple, he had no regrets either.

Karne was slowly making himself comfortable on the couch beside her as her eyes grew heavier. Why sleep seemed to be the only thing she was capable of she didn't know. The drugs in the asylum used to knock her out to get her through the night. She had taken her so called medication not long before Karne appeared and the effects were finally starting to take a toll on her. But she attempted to try to stay conscious amidst their conversation. She feared that if she slept that when she woke up she would be back in the asylum and that this really was all a delusion in her head. The fear of her whole world crumbling beneath her once again was enough to break the last of her sanity.

As Karne's cold arm pressed against her back, her head found a place to rest on his chest that was initially cold to touch but soon warmed under her as her natural heat began to warm his skin. Her legs moved closer to curl into her body making her already small frame even smaller. Karne's voice was oddly soothing, knowing that there was another person there instead of locked in a room hearing nothing but screams put her at ease and was making her gentle lull into slumber easier. However, she fought against it as best she could as Karne spoke to her about their family and there was nothing more important to her then her family.

The list of enemies that Karne spoke of made her frown as she worried about what would happen to her children. She wasn't there for them anymore and Karne was here with her, who was going to protect her children from all these adversaries? They had already suffered at the hands of demons, she didn't want them to through any more. From what she could gather, Marcus couldn't take any more pain or anguish. Worry began to set in and she stirred wanting to waken herself but her head was so heavy that all she could do was move her head under Karne's chin.

She wanted to tell him about his children, what they had been through, how Hope as tough on the outside but soft on the inside and Marcus was the opposite. His shell was soft but he was stronger then he knew. But how could she tell him that, up until today she questioned their very existence and even now she still wasn't certain that this wasn't all a delusion of her apparent so called psychosis. But she hoped they were real, she loved them more then she loved herself and it was that love that kept her clinging to what little of her mind she still had a grasp of.

Karne's voice was slowly sounding further and further away as she began to give in to her urge to sleep. She felt as though she was falling despite the fact she was laying on top of Karne. She hated the sensation the drugs gave her despite her efforts to fight against her own body, something she had to do more and more as her body and her mind grew more disconnected. But she knew that Karne needed her for something, what he needed she wasn't sure, but a part of her knew he needed something from her and despite her complete inability to do anything for anybody she wanted to try.

“Words cannot describe the shit run that you and I have had over the years; yet I’ve lived two lifetimes and probably not experienced anything that’s been half as valuable to me as what we’ve had, was…” The words swam around in her subconscious as she tried to comprehend it. Attempting to cling on to the last of consciousness before she knew she would fall into a deep drug induced sleep. She had so much she wanted to stay but the words didn't come out right as the words were mumbled. It was frustrating even to her as she knew Karne needed her to say something and she wanted to say so much that as she nuzzled her head into him she used the last of her energy to say one sentence.

" I love you too........ " she said on her breath as she finally gave in to the drugs and passed out on top of Karne, her body going limp and her breathing deepened as she finally slept. Her muscles relaxing, releasing the tension held within them from the stress of the asylum and the on going battle within her mind. Her mind replaying a scene from another time when rain was pouring around her and Karne stood in the street, casting their eyes on each other for the first time and as she slept, a smile crept across her face.

Perhaps this was the heavens trying to reward him for opening himself up to another for a change, yet he didn’t find it as wondrous as most might think he would; Karne sat there looking down at Cassandra more or less in his arms as she slept sounded, having told him that she loved him, human and fully dependent upon him. If there had been anything that would have made Karne feel some sense of worth in the past during their time together, it would be to know that she relied on him, that she didn’t just find him some arrogant and proud piece of shit that always got in the way of her ‘better judgement’, and now, here she was at her weakest, the only thing standing between her and captivity or death was himself and despite all that, he felt nothing but guilt. Looking beyond all the shit with Luca and all the fighting between her and himself; this was the one woman he had truly loved and the only woman he had been with since Kyriana back in the dark plains, just years after escaping his father’s covenant in his youth; Karne had not been with anyone since Cassandra, not even the whores of old town, the red light district of Arcane which he used to drink so often within. Cassandra was the only one in his sights, arguably why he did not blame her like she did herself and certainly why he felt the guilt and sympathy for her now, knowing that he and the Covenant were responsible for the state she was currently in; equally as much as she was, herself.

Slowly, reluctantly his gaze left her silent form, looking instead across the room to the fireplace in dense thought. The warmth and smell of her body was merciless in its appeal, his throat felt choked up while he focused on it briefly, only to try to distract himself by watching the fire flicker back and forth beneath the chimney. His lust wasn’t simply for blood but her body, the intimacy was erotic, the forbidden fruit if you will; though it was completely immoral to feel that way and even more so had he take advantage of the moment, yet no matter what they say about Vampires and especially those from the Death Family, Karne Reign still held on to his soul and could not…-Would not do that to Cassandra. Perhaps another human woman but not Cass.

“Sometimes I wonder if I’m not kidding myself…” He spoke softly, so not to disturb her so much yet certainly speaking aloud for both their sakes while she slept against him, “Arcane’s a lost cause yet I can’t let it go. I would like nothing more than to take you and the Children and leave anyone else who wished not to come with us, behind if only to see you all safe and happy. The others, they’re not my friends, they’re friends of yours and our children’s by extension; I’ve done the best that I know how to with what little we have left but sooner or later the humans will breach the Black wood, they will discover us and now that you’re human, I can’t be sure those charms you put around the Manor will still be in effect….-Shit, maybe I should take us all to Kallimorre, to the House Reign. Rejuvenate my mother’s land and build a future upon her side of the family. It’s currently the hiding grounds of the rest of our people…-We would not be alone…”; he didn’t expect Cassandra would hear nor understand but something had to change, they all needed something to change for them all to have a future in these lands. “Christ I miss Sophia…” He finally admitted, scowling a little to himself as he glanced off to the left, it not an easy thing to admit yet she would have known the right course of action to take and perhaps now as he had changed somewhat, they might have actually gotten along; “If there was one thing I could depend on with her and my Mother, it was that they would sacrifice the life of the world to ensure their own blood be preserved…-Well, up until Soph’ and I fell out with each other and she decided to stab me in the back” he couldn’t help but smirk a little, between the two siblings, it would naturally be her to be the one to actually follow through with her threats; Karne on the other hand simply hated backing down, yet he’d never truly have laid a hand on her.

" Marcus.. Hope... Destiny? " Cass called out for her children as she ran through the Black Woods in search of them. They were lost and she had to find them but no matter how far she ran or how much she searched they always seemed out of grasp. " Kids?! " her voice was breaking as she was hoarse from screaming their names. Scrambling through some trees her foot got caught in a root and she stumbled down into a hole. A bottomless pit that forced her deeper and deeper into Hell. She reached out to try and grab onto a tree branch. Her fingers clung to its weak roots and she looked up to see a familiar figure looming over her.

" Luca... " she muttered as he watched her descend further in the darkness. She tried to scream but no sound came out as the darkness suffocated any sound she made. She turned to look down and beneath her lay Mayhem, a vicious and grotesque looking Plague waiting with open arms to take her once again. But that was not what struck fear into her heart. But beside Plague, was her children. Marcus, Hope and Destiny all by his side, consumed by his darkness and waiting to drag her down with them.


" No..... no.... " tossing and turning, Cass began to cry out in her sleep. A light sweat formed along her skin as she struggled to fight an invisible force that only she could see in her minds eye. " Marcus... no Hope... Des.. " she suddenly shot up from her sleep, panting, gasping for breath. Her chest heaved and her heart was racing as she tried to figure out where she was. She looked around trying to get her bearings. Memories of Karne started flashing through her mind. She was in that awful place and then he had saved her but what if she had imagined it like she had her dream. She rubbed her arms as she shivered with cold, her skin lined with goosebumps despite the fire still burning.

Her skin whitened as her stomach turned against her and forced her to flee to the bathroom where she had bathed the previous day. With little time to spare her stomach forcefully emptied its contents into the toilet. Retching, Cass couldn't determine what had caused her to be so ill. Was it seeing Plague in her dream? Withdrawal from the cocktail the doctors had her on? She didn't know but all she did know was how she felt like every part of her was dying. Her body hurt all over, her head was throbbing and she felt like she had no energy what so ever to the point that even breathing was exhausting.

After a few minutes, her body finally ceased it's attempts to evacuate her stomach. A things for which she was grateful as there was nothing left but bile and acid. Shaking and whiter then before she curled into the fetal position on the floor. Her teeth clattered together as she buried her head into the crook of her arm and tears rolled down her cheeks. What if what she saw was true? If what Karne said was true, if she really had done all those awful things she imagined and she did belong to that vile creature then maybe that was her punishment. She would be forced to live out her days a human unable to do anything to save her children from his clutches.

Yes, it all made sense. This was her punishment. God was punishing her or Plague, she saw little difference between the two but no matter who was putting her through this torment she knew she had brought this all upon herself. " I'm so sorry.. I'm so sorry I failed you.. " she sobbed as she saw her children in Plague's hands. They were lost to her forever and as a human she would never again process the abilities to save them. She failed in her duty to protect them and with that realisation, she lost what little will she had left to live. She couldn't go on living with the knowledge that her only reason for living was now gone and it was because of her.

Sniffling, she looked up and reached for the sink that was above her. Pulling herself up with what little energy she had left she managed to get back on her feet. Weakly she lifted her head and stared at the reflection before her. Her face was gaunt and pale. Bags had formed under her eyes and all signs of life had left her eyes. She was already dead inside, it was time that the outside matched what was inside. Opening a small cabinet she found very little there. Old tooth paste, shaving foam but no razor. But on the top was an old cracked and clouded glass. Taking it from the shelf she cupped it for a moment against her.

Then, unmerciful she smashed the glass against the porcelain of the sink. Shards showered the floor and the sink itself but Cassandra held onto the remnants in her hand. A base with only a few jagged pieces still attached was all that was left but that was all she needed to finally get the peace she longed for. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she thought of her children. " I'm sorry .... I let you down .... I .... don't deserve you .... " she said as she pressed the jagged glass to her wrist. Tiny drops of blood began to come to the surface where it pierced her skin.

In a few minutes, this would all be over and she would finally be able to rest. All she had to do was drag the glass along her arm and she would silently pass away as though she had never been here to begin with. " I can't hurt anyone else, I won't hurt anyone else. It's the only way... " she said crying as she began to press the glass harder against her skin and she shut her eyes ready to end it all in this little bathroom, her finally resting place.

Throughout much of the night, Karne Reign had paced the room, his cold and deathly form walking without a single sound coming from his footsteps as he watched Cassandra sleeping for the most part comfortably and quietly. He on the other hand was someone who was most alert in the later hours, being of his Vampire kin, a night walker though not foreign nor harmed by the light of day, Karne had no intention of laying down for the evening. Regular were his visits outside, falling back on the very human habit of smoking a cigarette, watching the smoke take to the black of the night with a wisp of white gliding freely against the air, all the while pretending as if his lungs weren’t already dead and decayed inside, still dying in some shape or form from the pointless inhaling of breath and nicotine. It was one of those things that he enjoyed doing yet also made him frequently question the point in anything. The high or rather the stress relief from said cigarettes was foreign, it frankly didn’t work a fucking bit to his already pasted corpse and yet the mental influence that it still held to a brain still functional long after death, it was a mystery to him that he couldn’t shake yet never really bothered to try to answer for himself, the way of his life after all being a succession of bad fucking choices and results that made little to no sense, his survival for example while he was arguably one of the more violent and more importantly, prone people to making fucking bad decisions; often hurting others in the process…-Nights like these, alone but not without company, were the worse, the ones that made you think on shit. Like anything good ever actually came from giving thought to one’s life and habitual circumstance.

Behind the glass of the ranch slider, the door open with wide cut windows that ran upon rails leading out into the little yard that the house actually had out back, Karne was certain he’d heard something. As if something had broken, it had caught his attention and wrought him out of his thoughts almost on instant, taking only a moment to make sense of what it could be, the breaking of glass…
He had a pistol of his fathers stuffed into the back of his jeans, yet armed with rounds fluorescent blue, ultra violet bullets were really only good for killing his own kind, the mortals would naturally be wounded but it didn’t have the same effect as hollow tips which riddled the body in fractured lead and made certain to cause the most damage upon impact. Instead he moved quiet and slow back into the apartment, his eyes showering the room having expected that perhaps those of Oxen Corporation might have tracked them here. Instead, the first thing that he noticed was that Cassandra was missing from the crouch, brows furrowing, his glance lept to the hall way for only a moment before the words left him and he was more or less flying across the furniture, letting nothing stop him in his charge for the bathroom.

The glass was in her hand, she was mid swipe for one of her wrists yet he caught the hand that held the shard from the broken mirror and with his right hand, gripped her by the throat, pushing her forcefully against the wall yet not using his immortal strength, simply restraining her against the tiling of the bathroom while his left hand tilted her by the wrist, enough so to be awkward and painful enough that she might drop the would be weapon of suicide. “What the fuck are you doing!?” He shouted at her, his body coming in close so that she knew there was nowhere she could go but look at him and explain herself, to him this was infuriating and hopelessly pathetic. Hopeless in that he understood it, pathetic in that he could relate to her feeling utterly useless yet knowing the children who were awaiting his return, he was trying his best not to smack some sense into her for all that the twins would be utterly devastated. He had never been that kind of man but to find her, to try to help her and then potentially find her dead by her own hands, it caught in his throat as he tried to speak and forced his own gaze to pull away…-Slowly taking a step back and releasing her though soon swiftly turning on his heels and sending his left arm against the already broken mirror, screaming “FUCK!!!” and completely shattering not only the glass but the frame around the hidden cabinet that was the inside.

There wasn’t much left to him to decide, she couldn’t be left alone in this shitty bathroom, instead he pulled her back to her feet by the arm not giving her the choice to complain and soon pushing her ahead of him as he walked right up behind her, guiding her out of the room and closing the door behind him, leaving them in the hallway while his eyes found the wall opposite himself, looking across her shoulders as he tried to come to terms with her attempt and how to deal with it. “What in fucks name were you thinking…-Your children are waiting…-Hoping by some fucking miracle you’re alive and somehow you fucking are…-But you’re pulling this shit…”.

The glass felt cold against her skin as she built up what little courage she had left to do what was necessary to finally end, not only her own suffering but everybody else's too. She had been nothing but a Plague on this Earth. No wonder the physical manifestation of everything she hated was so aptly named Plague. She had been a demon in the lives of  those she loved and the kindest thing she could now was to remove herself thus easing their burden and pain.  She shut her eyes and bit her lip as she said goodbye to those she loved. Hope, Marcus, Destiny, they would be better off without her and she hoped that once she sacrificed herself and was sent back to Hell where she belonged, her children would be freed of the torment they were enduring.

She took what she imagined would be one of her last breathes and then began to press, the sweet sting and wetness of blood on her skin sending her nerve ends firing. It hurt more than she imagined but what was a little pain now to end it all completely and free those she loved. However, in her desperate attempt to finally be free of her wretched life a force overwhelmed her and knocked her back into her twisted reality. She felt her breath leave her as she was pushed against a wall and a hand wrapped around her throat. Blinking through tears she had not realised she had shed, she imagined only my beast who would wish this life on her, who would want her to live if only to suffer for his entertainment. But Plague was not in the bathroom, no it was Karne. Karne was twisting her wrist and causing her pain till the glass fell from her hand. It was Karne who shouted at her wanting answers she couldn't possibly give him. Karne who wished this painful life on her.

She sobbed in the face of Karne as he prevented her from doing what she thought was the only thing left for her to do. The last decent thing she could for her family and he had stopped her. Why? She didn't know. Her fractured mind unable to comprehend why he would inflict the torture of this life upon for one more day. He saved her from the asylum, but he could not save her from herself no matter how hard he tried. She was damaged, broken and not worthy of the love her children bestowed upon her and for that love they were now in the hands of her worst nightmare while she was here, safe, secure. None of it was fair, it should of been her. She flinched as Karne cursed and broke what was left of the mirror in the bathroom. He was angry and the bruises were already showing up on her wrists from where he had forced the glass out of her hand. For the first time, Cass looked at Karne with fear.

Gasping as he dragged her out of the bathroom, she didn't have the ability nor the will to stop him. What difference would it make if he took her life? Maybe that was his plan, to save her the agony of inflicting harm on herself and he would drain the life from her peacefully and she could meet her end in a less gruesome manner. But as he came to an abrupt halt in the hallway it was becoming clear that he wasn't going to help her, far from it. Her arms wrapped around her as she made herself smaller in his presence. A small trickle of blood ran down her arm from the small puncture wound she had created but failed to complete. Her eyes still held fear in them as she dared to gaze upon Karne who taunted her that her children were waiting. If only he knew where.

" Stop it Karne... just stop! " her voice was weak and so yelling at him came across feebly. " I know they are waiting that's why I have to do this. " she was desperate to save them from their fate and desperate to make Karne understand. " They are down there with him and he won't rest till he gets me back Karne. The kids are trapped and they are down there and unless I go back ... I have to save them Karne. They don't deserve this. " she began to break down completely as she realised with every breathe she took her children suffered. " I don't deserve this life, I shouldn't be here.... they're the only good thing I ever did and now Plague has them. " The weight of her decision began to buckle her legs as she reached out to the wall for support.

" I have to save them, please Karne just let me die. " her words finally became nothing more then desperate sobs as her body sled down the wall. Images of her children being tortured by Plague tormented her every waking moment and despite her best attempt she had once again failed them. They were crying out for her, begging her to free them and she was unable to do something as simple as die. " I failed them..... " she muttered as she buried her head into her knees in shame. Her very reasons for living, for holding onto the last straw of sanity, of belief that they even existed, were now asking her to sacrifice herself for them so that they could live on. She knew if she had succeeded she would be damned to eternal torment but it was no less then she deserved. Whatever her actions as a human, a vampire or a demon had been. She had always considered herself a good mother but now faced with the fact that she would be unable to fulfill this one thing that would save her children's very souls, so she believed, she no longer saw any worth in herself or her pathetic life and wished in that moment for the Earth to finally cleanse itself of the virus that was Cassandra Blake and wipe her off the face of the planet for good.